Short-lived scheme, introduced by the Conservative government, to incentivise employers to create more jobs, and reduce the numbers claiming unemployment benefit, by splitting existing roles.
This government initiative caused suspicion and resistance. It appears to have been a scheme to encourage people on benefits to move into work. Employers were incentivised to split a full time job, to create two part time roles, which could add up to maximum of 10 hours per week more than the original job. The scheme was expected to pay for itself, and so was restricted to those already in receipt of benefits. It thus excluded mothers who might otherwise have used it to return to work.